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GOG.com added a second helping of Lucasfilm games to its classic PC gaming catalog today, giving players the opportunity to download six Star Wars games on its platform, DRM-free. Three of the games are available digitally for the first time according to GOG.com: Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter ($10), Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance ($10) and Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds Saga (Seen above, $6).

Few games featuring death make us chuckle, but Grim Fandango is on the short list (right next to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for that "What is a man?" line read). On January 27, we all get to have another morbid laugh when Grim Fandango Remastered debuts on PS4, Vita and PC, Mac and Linux.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>double-finegrim-fandangoLucasArtsmacpcplaystationplaystation-vitaps4vitaTue, 13 Jan 2015 22:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/be-a-dos-boss-play-2-386-pc-games-in-your-browser-for-free/http://www.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/be-a-dos-boss-play-2-386-pc-games-in-your-browser-for-free/http://www.joystiq.com/2015/01/06/be-a-dos-boss-play-2-386-pc-games-in-your-browser-for-free/#comments
Forget that chubby guy from the North Pole, the real Santa Claus this holiday season is the Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library that now hosts 2,386 DOS games that can be played by anyone at no cost.

A digital cache of that size brings with it both good and bad news. On the downside, there's bound to be lots of bad games, even notoriously bad ones like the baffling 1989 fighting game Tongue of the Fatman. But on the upside, the collection also includes some legitimate classics like LucasArts' adventure game adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and the PC version of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Pool of Radiance campaign. With 2,386 games available there's far too many to briefly describe here, but you can browse the collection by visiting the Archive.

The best news, though, is that in lieu of simply archiving .exe files for each game, the Internet Archive listings feature an in-browser version of the ubiquitous DOSBox emulator. It won't be exactly the same experience you had playing these games in the late 1980s, but it's far easier than convincing games from the Reagan era to play nicely with modern computers.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Indiana-Jones-and-the-Last-Crusadeinternet-archivelucasartspcpool-of-radiancessiTue, 06 Jan 2015 21:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/10/27/lucasarts-classics-reach-gog-com-on-october-28/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/10/27/lucasarts-classics-reach-gog-com-on-october-28/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/10/27/lucasarts-classics-reach-gog-com-on-october-28/#comments
Six classic LucasArts games, including The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, will be re-released via GOG.com on October 28, according to a now-deleted forum post preserved in the digital amber of Google Cache.

"We're proud to announce a new partnership with Disney that allows for the DRM-free release of about 30 classic titles from [LucasArts]," the leaked post read. "Today, to start with a bang, we are releasing a selection of 6 acclaimed titles from Lucas' most famous gaming franchises, so that the Disney/Lucasfilm catalog on GOG.com is made impressive from day one."

Alongside the two mentioned above, the games coming to GOG include Star Wars: X-Wing Special Edition, Star Wars: Tie Fighter Special Edition, Sam & Max Hit The Road and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. There's currently no word on the price points the service will attach to these classic games.

Heavily inspired by Supercell's Clash of Clans, Star Wars: Commander allows players to side with either the Empire or the Rebellion in a global player-versus-player war. Each faction features unique themed buildings and troop types, and like Clash of Clans and similar games that have risen in popularity in recent months, players must fortify their defenses in between assaults on enemy player bases.

Star Wars: Commander is available as a free download supported by in-game microtransactions. An Android version is slated to launch in September.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disney-interactiveiosipadiphonelucasartsmobilestar-wars-commanderTue, 26 Aug 2014 17:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/04/star-wars-1313-production-art-is-a-beautiful-painful-reminder/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/04/star-wars-1313-production-art-is-a-beautiful-painful-reminder/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/05/04/star-wars-1313-production-art-is-a-beautiful-painful-reminder/#comments
Like a certain Mandalorian bounty hunter crawling out from the belly of a sarlacc, images from the canceled Star Wars 1313 game have defied death and are once more flying about, ready to be admired. Brazilian artist Bruno Werneck's work on the game has been spotted over at Filmpaint Studio, and if you were heartbroken about the game's cancellation before, just take a look at what could have been.

Gaze ye upon Hoth, Tatooine, Coruscant ... and despair. Or be happy to have something to remember 1313 by. Whichever way you want to spin it.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>artcanceledconcept-artlucasartsstar-warsstar-wars-1313Sun, 04 May 2014 13:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/04/19/former-lucasarts-president-now-ceo-at-dungeon-defenders-dev/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/04/19/former-lucasarts-president-now-ceo-at-dungeon-defenders-dev/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/04/19/former-lucasarts-president-now-ceo-at-dungeon-defenders-dev/#comments
Darrell Rodriguez, who served as president of LucasArts between 2008 and 2010, will now lead Dungeon Defendersdeveloper Trendy Entertainment as its CEO, the studio has announced. Rodriguez, who most recently served as Chief Creative Officer at casino game creator International Game Technology, said in a press release that he was drawn to the studio due to it being "among the first companies to recognize that digitally distributed releases deserve the same high-quality treatment as traditional retail titles."

"AAA doesn't belong to AAA anymore, and finding fellow video game industry veterans who understand this is an exciting proposition," Rodriguez said.

Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to canceled Star Wars video games. Okay, so maybe it wasn't hate or the Dark Side that spelled the death of a Darth Maul-centric Star Wars video game, but rather a chaotic triangle relationship between developer Red Fly Studios, publisher LucasArts and George Lucas. Game Informer reports in its May issue that the game explored the early days of Maul's life, giving an up-close and personal look at Sith training. Or rather, it would have, had two major changes to the game not thrown Death Star-sized wrenches into the proverbial gears.

Ex-Red Fly employees speaking under condition of anonymity told Game Informer that it felt like LucasArts wanted to tie the game to the Clone Wars animated TV show. However, LucasArts only gave sparse details and vague hints to prevent any kind of leaks, which left Red Fly without a clear direction or vision for the game. The studio developed new prototypes for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii U, including a "forward stealth" design inspired by Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The biggest vision shift, however, came from George Lucas himself. According to one source, Lucas took statues of Darth Maul and Darth Talon - a character from the Star Wars comics from Dark Horse - faced them toward one another, and declared, "They're friends!" When it was brought to Lucas' attention that Maul and Talon lived more than a century and a half apart from one another, Lucas reportedly suggested it could be a clone or descendant that players controlled instead of the original Maul.

Game Informer obtained images and concept art of key characters and locales the game could have featured, and some are just as outlandish as the concept of Talon and Maul teaming up, including a redesigned Darth Krayt and an ocean city pulled along by colossal eels. The whole story is, as the kids say, pretty cray.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cancelleddarth-mauldisneygeorge-lucasLucasArtsRed-FlyRed-Fly-Studiosstar-warsSun, 13 Apr 2014 13:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/20/star-wars-denied-creativity-permitted-a-crucial-moment-in-luca/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/20/star-wars-denied-creativity-permitted-a-crucial-moment-in-luca/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/20/star-wars-denied-creativity-permitted-a-crucial-moment-in-luca/#comments
Founded in 1982 as a new division of George Lucas' entertainment empire, LucasFilm Games intended to hinge its products on cutting-edge technology. David Fox, also known as LucasArts Employee #2, envisioned a visually rich first-person spaceship game for Atari 8-bit systems - and doesn't that just sound perfect for Star Wars?

"I wanted it to be a Star Wars game originally," Fox said, "and we were told right up front, when we asked, that we were not allowed to do Star Wars titles. "And I was really upset," he said, laughing. "I joined the company because I wanted to be in Star Wars and that was the closest way I could do it, to create a game and do it that way."

Though LucasFilm Games would eventually align with Star Wars as it became the LucasArts we knew, it was this initial denial that set a course for long-lasting collaboration and unique design approaches. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, in the first postmortem panel dedicated to a company, former figureheads spoke of an atmosphere in which creators were permitted to do anything but Star Wars.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gdc-2014lucasartslucasfilm-gamespcrecommendedstar-warsThu, 20 Mar 2014 21:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/01/17/disney-abandons-star-wars-1313-trademark/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/01/17/disney-abandons-star-wars-1313-trademark/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/01/17/disney-abandons-star-wars-1313-trademark/#comments
Family-friendly megacorporation Disney has allowed its trademark on Star Wars 1313 to lapse, likely driving the final nail into the coffin of the promising action game once described by developers as "Star Wars hell."

Initially revealed just prior to E3 2012, Star Wars 1313 was to be a darker take on George Lucas' beloved space epic. Instead of cutesy ewoks and characters who clearly fit into either "good" or "evil" roles, Star Wars 1313 would have cast players as a bounty hunter stalking the crime-ridden alleyways of Coruscant. Little was revealed of the game before its development was suspended following Disney's purchase of LucasArts, but Star Wars 1313 was repeatedly described as "dark and mature" by its developers at LucasArts.

Now, a visit to the United States Patent And Trademark Office website reveals that Disney's trademark has lapsed. "Abandoned because no Statement of Use or Extension Request timely filed after Notice of Allowance was issued," reads the trademark status section, indicating that Disney made no effort to maintain its ownership of the title. While it is possible that some of the concepts seen in those early glimpses might make their way into future Star Wars games, it seems unlikely that we'll ever see Star Wars 1313 on store shelves.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disneylucasartslucasfilmstar-warsstar-wars-1313trademarkUSPTOFri, 17 Jan 2014 17:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/07/first-star-wars-game-from-disney-tiny-death-star-out-now-for-f/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/07/first-star-wars-game-from-disney-tiny-death-star-out-now-for-f/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/07/first-star-wars-game-from-disney-tiny-death-star-out-now-for-f/#comments
That's no tiny moon - it's a Tiny Death Star, the first Star Wars game from Disney since it bought LucasArts in 2012, made in collaboration with Tiny Tower developer NimbleBit. Tiny Death Star is a pixelated Star Wars take on Tiny Tower, with players building their own Death Stars for the dark side of the Force. It's available now, free, for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8.

Disney shut down LucasArts as a development studio in April, shifting it to the licensing business. NimbleBit has made its mark in mobile development in recent years, with more than 10 million downloads of Tiny Tower as of 2012. But no matter how you may feel about Disney, LucasArts, Star Wars or NimbleBit, it's clear that Tiny Death Star is pretty darn adorable.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>androiddisneyiosipadiphoneLucasArtsmobileNimbleBitpcStar-Warsstar-wars-tiny-death-starThu, 07 Nov 2013 12:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/28/report-day-of-the-tentacle-remake-80-percent-done-before-luca/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/28/report-day-of-the-tentacle-remake-80-percent-done-before-luca/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/28/report-day-of-the-tentacle-remake-80-percent-done-before-luca/#comments
A remastered Day of the Tentacleseems doomed to lie at the bottom of the ocean, despite being "80% done," according to a Kotaku source. A source reportedly "close to the project" told Kotaku that Day of the Tentacle was being remade with updated art and cutscenes, much like when its 90s adventure game sibling The Secret of Monkey Islandgot the same treatment in 2009.

Although Kotaku's source referred to the Day of the Tentacle remaster as a "dream project" for many employees, the game was never technically greenlit, meaning even if it had been 100% completed, even if Disney hadn't shut down LucasArts, there's no guarantee it would have been released.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cancelledday-of-the-tentacledisneylucasartsremakereportSat, 28 Sep 2013 10:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-review-portabliss/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-review-portabliss/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/31/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-review-portabliss/#commentsThis is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is the kind of game that's almost too big to be playing on the iPad. It's easily 30 hours long, with extensive attribute, skill, and combat systems, and it has some of the best storytelling BioWare's ever done, all set in the epic pre-film Star Wars universe. This is a monster of a classic game, and like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Baldur's Gate before it, it seems like cheating to play this game on Apple's touchscreen tablet, like you're somehow breaking the laws of mobile gaming physics, if such a school even exists.

And yet, it works. Aspyr Media is the company responsible here. It's been porting games to the Mac for a long time, and with Knights of the Old Republic has decided to start bringing what it calls "catalog Mac experiences" to iOS. Presumably, the rights were snagged from BioWare and LucasArts, and now there's a very well-made $9.99 port of one of the best Star Wars games ever assembled, running on the iPad.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aspyraspyr-mediabiowareiosipadknights-of-the-old-republicKOTORlucasartsmobileportportablissstar-warsstar-wars-knights-of-the-old-republicFri, 31 May 2013 10:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/avalanche-was-almost-signed-to-make-massive-star-wars-open-wo/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/avalanche-was-almost-signed-to-make-massive-star-wars-open-wo/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/07/avalanche-was-almost-signed-to-make-massive-star-wars-open-wo/#comments
At some point between 2005 and 2009, Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios "almost" signed with LucasArts on a "massive, open world" Star Wars game, according to former Avalanche Studio Manager Oskar Burman and current Chief Creative Officer Christofer Sundberg.

In the wake of EA, including DICE, obtaining exclusive rights to make Star Wars games, Burman tweeted, "Actually, wanting to work with SW goes deep in Swe [Sweden]. Long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, we almost got that deal when I was at Avalanche."

Avalanche founder Sundberg replied, "If they had given us the deal back then LucasArts would be alive today. A massive SW open world game! We would have rocked it."

Burman, currently General Manager at Rovio Stockholm, worked at Avalanche between April 2005 and May 2009. It's unclear if the deal in question was set aside as LucasArts made Star Wars 1313 an internal project, or if it relates to something separate.

When LucasArts and 1313's demise was announced last month, Sundberg tweeted that staff working on the game had told him it needed another two years to be completed.

Electronic Arts and the Walt Disney Company, which obtained the Star Wars franchise as part of its $4.05 billion acquisition of LucasFilm last year, have signed a multi-year exclusive licensing agreement to develop and publish Star Wars games.

"While we don't have any details to share today on specific titles, our development teams are already brimming with design ideas," said EA Labels President Frank Gibeau. "The EA Studios that will develop these games are some of the most innovative and popular creative teams in the world, and include DICE and Visceral, in addition to the BioWare team, which is already developing for the Star Wars franchise."

The financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. EA will develop and publish new Star Wars games for the "core gaming audience" across all interactive platforms and "most popular game genres." Disney will retain certain rights to mobile, social, tablet and online games.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disneyDisney-Interactiveeaelectronic-artsLucasArtslucasfilmstar-warsMon, 06 May 2013 16:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/star-wars-battlefront-3-live-stream-new-footage-appears/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/star-wars-battlefront-3-live-stream-new-footage-appears/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/06/star-wars-battlefront-3-live-stream-new-footage-appears/#comments
Over this "May the 4th be with you" weekend, the irrepressible Star Wars: Battlefront 3 once again returned from the grave with new footage and a live stream. "New" is a malleable word here, since all of this comes from a game that was canceled in 2008 and may have leaked in one form or another over the past five years.

The first occurrence of game footage was a livestream by PtoPOnline. According to Game Informer, ptoponline.com focuses on "coverage and streaming of pre-release games, betas, and canceled projects."

There was also some alpha build footage, reportedly from a reel by developer Free Radical made in November of 2008, that was posted on Vimeo by Blue_Monkey.

The Star Wars franchise is now a licensing opportunity for developers and publishers following the closure of LucasArts.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>battlefront-3free-radicallucasartsmicrosoftnintendopcplaystationps3star-wars-battlefront-3wiixboxMon, 06 May 2013 09:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/celebrate-the-day-before-cinco-de-mayo-with-steams-star-wars-co/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/celebrate-the-day-before-cinco-de-mayo-with-steams-star-wars-co/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/05/04/celebrate-the-day-before-cinco-de-mayo-with-steams-star-wars-co/#comments
It's May 4, which means we're only one day away from Cinco de Mayo. What other reason would there be for Steam to put a collection of Star Wars games on sale? May the fourth day of this month be remembered as the day you could buy 14 games for $50 on Steam, a 50 percent discount on a bundle that includes a list of games seen after the break.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-2KOTOR-2KOTOR-2-The-Sith-LordsLucasArtsmacpcsalestar-wars-collectionstar-wars-dark-forcesstar-wars-knights-of-the-old-republicStar-Wars-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-2-The-Sith-LordsSTEAMSat, 04 May 2013 13:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/a-eulogy-for-lucasarts-from-lucasarts/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/a-eulogy-for-lucasarts-from-lucasarts/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/07/a-eulogy-for-lucasarts-from-lucasarts/#commentsImagine former LucasArts Composer Jesse Harlin standing at the lectern, dressed in black, and delivering the following eulogy while pictures of his colleagues fade in and out in a slideshow behind him:

"LucasArts died today. It was 30 years old. Ask gamers to recall George Lucas' gaming company and they'll tell you about fulfilled childhood fantasies inside the cockpit of a TIE Bomber or laugh with you about insult sword fighting. They remember the time they spent in the boots of Kyle Katarn, Ben Throttle, or Boss. They remember our successes and they remember our stumbles. But that was the public face of LucasArts."

The speech continues, noting times of triumph and the deep, personal relationships shared by employees of LucasArts over the years, told from an inside perspective. Disney shut down LucasArts on April 3, after more than 30 years of operation, halting production on all of its games.

Harlin penned the words of what he dubs "A Eulogy for LucasArts," and he put it to photos that Joel Aron snapped of employees on their final day in the office, compiled in a heartfelt series here.

When we recall LucasArts, we think of point-and-click adventures, the SCUMM engine and TIE Fighter, among many more fond memories.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disneyeulogyLucasArtsSun, 07 Apr 2013 13:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/remembering-the-life-and-legend-of-lucasarts/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/remembering-the-life-and-legend-of-lucasarts/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/remembering-the-life-and-legend-of-lucasarts/#comments
LucasArts has become one with the Force. The venerable studio and publisher was shuttered by owner Disney yesterday, halting production on its games, including Star Wars 1313. Though the amount of content coming from the studio had been drastically reduced over the last few years - well before Disney acquired Lucasfilm in October 2012 - LucasArts was a beloved studio finding success in multiple decades.

But what made LucasArts games so special?

Although LucasArts may be best known for its Star Wars games - starting as the gaming branch of Lucasfilm, George Lucas' production company - the developer's biggest successes in the 1980s were point-and-click adventure games. The classic Maniac Mansion, released in 1987, introduced the SCUMM engine, that would provide the model for most of their two-dimensional adventure games (including several Indiana Jones games, Loom, Day Of The Tentacle, and The Dig).

It has a very familiar look to a certain type of gamer: a collection of verbs like "Look at" or "Open" on the bottom of the screen, and bright inventory. It looks somewhat ungainly now, but at the time it was a revolutionary step toward mouse-based interfaces and away from text adventures that forced players to type in all actions.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>DisneyLucasArtsThu, 04 Apr 2013 19:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/star-wars-1313-halted-says-lucasfilm/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/star-wars-1313-halted-says-lucasfilm/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/04/star-wars-1313-halted-says-lucasfilm/#commentsA LucasFilm representative confirmed that production on Star Wars 1313 and what's rumored to be Star Wars: First Assault has ceased following yesterday's closure of LucasArts by Disney. Speaking to the BBC, LucasFilm spokesperson Miles Perkins said, "Both current Star Wars games projects have been halted."

A LucasArts representative previously indicated to Game Informer that Star Wars 1313 could be released via external licensing. However, a Kotaku source told that site the chances of that happening are "effectively zero."

"It is worth noting that we are looking for proven external partners who can help us provide video games to our fans," the LucasArts rep told Game Informer. "We still believe in the video game industry, we still will provide Star Wars games, we're just looking at different models rather than internal production... They're evaluating everything. There's always a possibility that it [Star Wars 1313] can still come out via licensing."

The last we'd seen of Star Wars 1313 was an "inaccurate" PlayStation Germany posting, which said the game would be available on PS3 this year. Leaked materials indicated Star Wars: First Assault as a multiplayer shooter coming to XBLA, although LucasArts had yet to officially confirm the game or any details surrounding it.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disneylucasartslucasfilmstar-wars-1313Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/disney-closes-lucasarts/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/disney-closes-lucasarts/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/04/03/disney-closes-lucasarts/#commentsDisney, which acquired Lucasfilm and LucasArts last year in a $4.05 billion deal, has shut down the legendary LucasArts division.

"After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games," Disney informed Game Informer in a statement. "As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles."

Although a Star Wars game factory in recent years, the publisher will be remembered for its work defining the adventure genre from the '80s to the '90s, on such titles as Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle. The soul of those games and that era moved on from the company after the departure of Ron Gilbert and Double Fine's Tim Schafer.

The last announced LucasArts project was Star Wars 1313, but rumors have circulated for months about the action-adventure's halted development. The fate of Star Wars: First Assault, a multiplayer shooter, has been just as unclear.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disneyLucasArtsWed, 03 Apr 2013 13:29:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/14/report-star-wars-first-assault-video-footage-storms-the-web/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/14/report-star-wars-first-assault-video-footage-storms-the-web/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/14/report-star-wars-first-assault-video-footage-storms-the-web/#commentsLucasArts never officially announced Star Wars: First Assault, but it was scheduled to launch this spring as a multiplayer shooter, according to Kotaku. First Assault is still in production, but it's caught up in a company-wide freeze following Disney's purchase of LucasFilm in September, according to reports.

And it looks something like this, Kotaku says. The website has two pieces of footage that it says are from First Assault, both cut from a trailer used internally late last year; the gameplay video shows action mostly in first-person, though there are a few scenes of third-person fighting. It's all in-game footage, including a few bugs and incomplete art, and it is an "older" version of the game, Kotaku says.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>LucasArtslucasfilmmicrosoftpcplaystationps3star-wars-first-assaultxboxThu, 14 Mar 2013 18:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/11/rumor-star-wars-first-assault-is-a-multiplayer-shooter-curren/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/11/rumor-star-wars-first-assault-is-a-multiplayer-shooter-curren/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/11/rumor-star-wars-first-assault-is-a-multiplayer-shooter-curren/#commentsStar Wars: First Assault, an unannounced game from LucasArts, was a multiplayer shooter designed to test interest in Battlefront 3, Kotaku reports. First Assault was going to host a closed beta in September, with a launch scheduled for this spring, but when Disney bought LucasFilm in September the project was put on hold, the website says.

The September beta timeline agrees with a leaked image promoting First Assault on XBLA, uncovered in early October.

Kotaku cites someone "no longer familiar with the goings-on" at LucasArts, but with knowledge of the project for the following information: First Assault was a downloadable, multiplayer shooter supporting up to 16 players in various Star Wars worlds, and was supposed to gauge interest in a rebuilt Battlefront game. After years of being passed around studios, having been nearly completed and canceled, starting Battlefront 3 from scratch would probably be a good call.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>disneyLucasArtslucasfilmmicrosoftpcplaystationps3star-wars-battlefront-3star-wars-first-assaultxboxMon, 11 Mar 2013 19:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/05/zen-studios-launching-star-wars-pinball-this-month/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/05/zen-studios-launching-star-wars-pinball-this-month/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/05/zen-studios-launching-star-wars-pinball-this-month/#commentsWhether you're playing Pinball FX 2 on Xbox Live Arcade or Windows 8, Zen Pinball 2 on PlayStation Network or Mac, or Zen Pinball on iOS or Zen Pinball HD on Google Play, you'll be able to supplement your virtual table collection with a trio of new Star Wars-themed tables later this month. These three tables will be available standalone on iOS and Google Play, or in the aforementioned games as DLC.

The first three tables offered are themed around Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett and the animated Clone Wars series, each with their own unique missions and layout - and in the case of Episode V, even has footage taken directly from the film that will display in the dot matrix window prior to every mission.

A total of 10 different Star Wars Pinball tables are planned. Zen Studios has yet to finalize pricing, but we'll be sure to pass along that info as soon as it's announced.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>androidiosipadiphonelucasartsmacmicrosoftmobilepinball-fx-2playstationplaystation-vitaps3psnstar-wars-pinballvitaxblaxboxxbox-live-arcadezen-pinballzen-pinball-2zen-pinball-hdzen-studiosTue, 05 Feb 2013 15:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/25/star-wars-jedi-knight-jedi-academy-enrolls-in-mac-app-store-cr/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/25/star-wars-jedi-knight-jedi-academy-enrolls-in-mac-app-store-cr/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/25/star-wars-jedi-knight-jedi-academy-enrolls-in-mac-app-store-cr/#commentsAspyr has ported Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy to Mac, available today through the Mac App Store or as a cross-platform Steam Play game. Tuition for the Jedi Academy will set Padawans - and whatever the Sith equivalent of a Padawan is - back $9.99.

Of course, if you've already purchased the Windows version on Steam, you get access to the Mac port as part of that initial purchase. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy requires OS X 10.7.5 or higher - if you're looking to enroll in a real Jedi class, you should probably think about moving to New York.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aspyrlucasartsmacstar-warsstar-wars-jedi-knightstar-wars-jedi-knight-jedi-academysteam-playsteamplayFri, 25 Jan 2013 15:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/17/star-wars-1313-ps3/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/17/star-wars-1313-ps3/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/17/star-wars-1313-ps3/#commentsA PlayStation Germany post on Facebook says Star Wars 1313 is coming to PS3. The post, which links to a gallery of previously released images, reads "Star Wars 1313 erscheint 2013 für PlayStation 3," and you don't need a degree in German to know that says the third-person action game is headed for Sony's home console sometime this year.

Developer/publisher LucasArts has kept coy about the platforms, and that, along with the fidelity of what was demonstrated at last year's E3, led to speculation that 1313 would be for next-gen hardware. Of course, confirmation of it coming to PS3 doesn't exclude it from also being released on the console's successor, or any other systems for that matter.

Update: LucasArts has confirmed to Polygon that the information presented on PlayStation Germany's Facebook page was inaccurate, and that it has no further announcements to make at this time. Well then.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>lucasartsplaystationps3star-wars-1313Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/15/rumor-star-wars-battlefront-online-concept-art-leaked-out/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/15/rumor-star-wars-battlefront-online-concept-art-leaked-out/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/15/rumor-star-wars-battlefront-online-concept-art-leaked-out/#commentsSlant Six, developer of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, was rumored to be working on Star Wars: Battlefront Online before being hit with layoffs in April 2010 (not to be confused with the studio's layoffs from June of this year). The rumored project was canceled, and leaked concept art pieces supposedly from that game were recently found by Siliconera, such as the one seen above, which can be seen at the source link below.

While it's nice to look at what could have been, Slant Six ultimately survived and launched free-to-play and Activision Mobile-published iOS game The Bowling Dead in late November this year.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>concept-artleakedLucasArtsslant-sixslant-six-gamesStar-Warsstar-wars-battlefront-onlineSat, 15 Dec 2012 21:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/11/disneys-mobile-social-push-improves-its-bottom-line/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/11/disneys-mobile-social-push-improves-its-bottom-line/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/11/disneys-mobile-social-push-improves-its-bottom-line/#commentsDisney Interactive, the arm of Walt's empire that handles video games, saw an operating loss of $216 million for the fiscal year 2012, which ended on September 29. Loss for the quarter came to $76 million, an improvement of $18 million from Q4 2011.

Revenue for the year decreased 14 percent from 2011's $982 million, bringing 2012 to $845 million - the $216 million loss, however, improved from 2011's $308 million. Disney attributed the loss improvement to a focus on social games and decreased production of console games:

"Improved segment operating results for the year reflected an increase at our social games business.... The reduction in console games product development reflected an ongoing shift from console game releases to mobile and social game releases."

In 2011, Disney Interactive shut down all core studios except for Junction Point, the house responsible for the Epic Mickey series. Disney acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion on October 30, and the deal included LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, the Star Wars games and effects studios. During the acquisition, Disney said it was likely to develop social and mobile games in the Star Wars universe, leaving console games to licensed third parties.

Angry Birds Star Wars - now a collaboration between developer Rovio and the Walt Disney Company - jettisoned its latest trailer today, featuring everyone's favorite droid life partners. ABSW will use the force of fingers on November 8 across iOS, Android, and Windows 8 PCs.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>androidangry-birds-star-warsdisneyiosipadiphoneLucasArtsmobilepcrovioWed, 31 Oct 2012 17:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/disney-acquires-lucasfilm-for-4-05-billion-lucasarts-included/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/disney-acquires-lucasfilm-for-4-05-billion-lucasarts-included/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/disney-acquires-lucasfilm-for-4-05-billion-lucasarts-included/#commentsDisney has just announced its purchase of Lucasfilm Limited, the umbrella corporation responsible for all things Star Wars, Indiana Jones and pretty much anything else George Lucas has ever had his hand in. The purchase will set ol' Walt back $4.05 billion.

Industrial Light & Magic, Skywalker Sound and LucasArts are all included in the purchase price, meaning that Disney has not only found a way to profit from the production of movies that it isn't making, but also how to get Jar-Jar Binks into a Kingdom Hearts game.

The company also announced that Star Wars 7 exists and is aiming for a 2015 release date, which makes this the most insane thing ever. Lucasfilm co-chairman Kathleen Kennedy will become president of Lucasfilm under Disney, and will also act as executive producer on "new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>angry-birds-star-warsLucasArtsrovioMon, 29 Oct 2012 12:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/01/star-wars-first-assault-heading-to-xbla-other-digital-distribu/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/01/star-wars-first-assault-heading-to-xbla-other-digital-distribu/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/01/star-wars-first-assault-heading-to-xbla-other-digital-distribu/#commentsStar Wars: First Assault, which still hasn't been officially announced by Lucasarts, has popped up again, this time with a promotional image for Xbox Live Arcade. NeoGAF took note of the image for the game on the Xbox Marketplace.

Realizing that waving its hand and telling IGN to look elsewhere wasn't working, Lucasarts told the site, "It is an exciting time at our company right now, however we don't have any announcements at this time."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>LucasArtsmicrosoftstar-wars-first-assaultxboxMon, 01 Oct 2012 17:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/29/star-wars-first-assault-trademark-domains-filed/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/29/star-wars-first-assault-trademark-domains-filed/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/29/star-wars-first-assault-trademark-domains-filed/#commentsLucasfilm has filed trademark applications and obtained domains for "Star Wars: First Assault," the second time this year the company has failed at stealth ops. Fusible lists all the multimedia applications (including "interactive video games") the filing seeks to cover. No specific details are yet available on the project.

Eurogamer swings for the fences that it could be related to the third Battlefront game, rumored to be under development at Spark Unlimited. Battlefront 3 has been in some form of vapor state for years, with a rumor percolating back in February that the project was now at Spark Unlimited.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>LucasArtsstar-warsstar-wars-first-assaulttrademarkWed, 29 Aug 2012 14:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/24/star-wars-1313-dev-diary-is-a-journey-into-star-wars-hell/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/24/star-wars-1313-dev-diary-is-a-journey-into-star-wars-hell/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/24/star-wars-1313-dev-diary-is-a-journey-into-star-wars-hell/#commentsIn this latest developer diary, the titular level 1313 in Star Wars 1313 is described as a "Star Wars Hell," an "oppressive" place and "not somewhere that you want to be caught in an alley on a Friday night." Saturday night? We guess that's totally fine!

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>lucasartsmicrosoftpcplaystationps3star-wars-1313xboxFri, 24 Aug 2012 15:20:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/14/take-another-look-at-star-wars-1313s-very-pretty-underworld/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/14/take-another-look-at-star-wars-1313s-very-pretty-underworld/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/14/take-another-look-at-star-wars-1313s-very-pretty-underworld/#commentsWould you like to see a quick cut version of all the Star Wars 1313 footage we saw at E3? Good, because we've got just that, care of IGN.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gameplaylucas-artslucasartsstar-wars-1313Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/02/lucasarts-president-paul-meegan-leaves-the-company/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/02/lucasarts-president-paul-meegan-leaves-the-company/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/02/lucasarts-president-paul-meegan-leaves-the-company/#commentsLucasArts President Paul Meegan has decide to vacate his position at the House that Star Wars Built. COO Mich Chau says that the company wishes Meegan "the best in his future endeavors," and "will be re-evaluating LucasArts' leadership needs" in the future. This is the second big exit from LucasArts this summer: Creative Lead Clint Hocking also left the studio just recently. Meegan replaced Darrell Rodriguez, who, like Meegan, left the company after two years as president.

Meegan's LinkedIn page now lists him as a "CEO/President, Entrepreneur," and a "Change Agent," apparently looking for a new company. Considering Meegan helped found Epic Games China and has overseen studios at Ubisoft and Jaleco in the past, we're sure he'll land on his feet.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>companycoolucasartspaul-meeganpresidentresignresignedThu, 02 Aug 2012 23:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/12/far-cry-2-creative-lead-clint-hocking-now-working-for-valve/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/12/far-cry-2-creative-lead-clint-hocking-now-working-for-valve/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/12/far-cry-2-creative-lead-clint-hocking-now-working-for-valve/#commentsClint Hocking - the designer behind Far Cry 2 and the original Splinter Cell - vacated his latest gig at LucasArts last month. Though he didn't leave a forwarding address, a recent tweet depicted his son in the Valve headquarters lobby, with the word "Arrival." Valve reps confirmed his new employment there to Joystiq today via email, but stopped short of saying what Hocking's work at the Washington-based studio would entail.

Hocking previously worked at LucasArts on projects unknown, and has spent the past few years out of the spotlight (our past three stories on him involve exiting or entering new jobs).

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>clint-hockingfar-cry-2lucasartstwitterubisoftvalvevalve-softwareThu, 12 Jul 2012 14:20:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/09/lucasarts-hiring-for-unannounced-fps-project/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/09/lucasarts-hiring-for-unannounced-fps-project/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/09/lucasarts-hiring-for-unannounced-fps-project/#commentsLucasArts recently posted multiple openings for a team dedicated to an unknown first-person shooter game. One job description, that of the Senior Core Engineer position, listed the task of implementing "features and optimizations on current and Future Generation console and PC hardware." Still, it might be a stretch to assume that the finished product will land on any next-gen consoles.

The company posted four total positions to its recruiting page related to the FPS title: Senior AI Engineer, Senior Animator, Senior Core Engineer, and Gameplay Engineer, the last of which requires proficiency in Unreal Engine 3 and UnrealScript.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>fpsfuture-generationhiringLucasArtsMon, 09 Jul 2012 21:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/05/heres-an-hour-of-star-wars-battlefront-3-footage/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/05/heres-an-hour-of-star-wars-battlefront-3-footage/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/05/heres-an-hour-of-star-wars-battlefront-3-footage/#commentsLook, it's not our job to go around and re-open old wounds, and then pour salt in those wounds, and then smear mud on your salty wound and say "Aww, baby gonna cry? Cry baby gonna cry?", but sometimes such cruelty is an unavoidable consequence of our responsibility to share the truth, at all times.

The video above contains roughly an hour of footage from an alpha build of Star Wars Battlefront 3, compiled and commentated upon by Past to Present Online. While very obviously far from finished, the game's promise is clearly evident - the enormity of the Cloud City alone is enough to make us pine for what could have been.

As you'll recall, Free Radical Design essentially finished Battlefront 3 way back in 2008, but management changes at LucasArts doomed the project, despite being in the final stages of QA testing. If you (understandably) don't have a full hour to devote to footage from a cancelled Star Wars game, try skipping to this vehicle section on Bespin, which is a good encapsulation of how rough this build was.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alphabattlefront-3leaked-footageLucasArtsstar-warsstar-wars-battlefront-3Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:55:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/01/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-collection-spotted-for-pc/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/01/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-collection-spotted-for-pc/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/01/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-collection-spotted-for-pc/#commentsIt appears an as-yet-unannounced Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Collection will launch on July 17, according to a GameStop listing. We called a store representative and confirmed that a KOTOR collection is in their system, and is listed as a PC-exclusive title for $20.

The first game in the series (developed by BioWare) was released to critical acclaim in July 2003 for Xbox, and later for PC. KOTOR came to Mac via Steam just a few months ago. Obsidian developed the game's sequel, which launched on Xbox in December 2004.

We've reached out to LucasArts for more details on the collection.

Update: The game is listed on Amazon as Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic I and II PC Bundle Pack, and is available for preorder. We are still confirming details with LucasArts.